The Man of Property

Summary: The Forsytes are a prime example of upper-middle class London in the late Victorian era. Descended from a successful working man, the ten siblings that make up the elder generation of Forsytes live in the lap of luxury, yet are constantly conscious of their position and their possessions. The first book in the Forsyte Saga primarily revolves around Soames Forsyte, one of the younger generation. Soames is well-to-do, and has possesses everything he could possibly want - except the affections of his wife, the beautiful but reserved Irene. Soames intends to move to the country, as a means of kindling some intimacy in their marriage, and he hires the young and struggling architect Phillip Bosinney, the fiancée of his niece, to show more design and build him a spectacular house at his property at Robin Hill. However, the heart of another is the one thing that can never be truly possessed, and Soames only slowly begins to realize that all of his wealth and status is not enough to buy him a loving marriage.

Review: My first introduction to the Forsyte Saga was through the DVDs of the recent miniseries, due to my Netflix's strange tendency to accumulate British costume dramas. As a result, I was already familiar with the characters (and thank goodness, too, because there are a crowded city block's worth of them) and I knew all of the main plot points, since it turns out the miniseries followed at least the first book extremely closely. Therefore, I was able to follow along with the story relatively easily, and pay more attention to the flow of the prose and the tone of the language.

And, it turns out, for all of my usual whining about how hard it is for me to deal with the language of the classics, that I really enjoyed Galsworthy's writing. I was pleasantly surprised by was Galsworthy's ability at evoking a scene. He's particularly good at describing the feeling of a night, or of a spring morning, or of a foggy London street, in language that is clear and gorgeously evocative, albeit occasionally a little purple. He doesn't focus on the "furniture" of a situation, and often doesn't provide a lot of scenic details, but is so good at evoking the tone of a scene that the details fill in themselves.

While I can't separate out how much of the characterizations were due to Galsworthy and how much were due to having watched the movies first, the characters really came alive for me. I'm actually going to say that it's mostly Galsworthy - Irene is more of an on-screen character in the movie, while in the book she's (intentionally) left as somewhat of a cipher, only ever seen through the eyes of the men around her. While reading, I found that she remained pretty mysterious, without the movie-version of her bleeding into my perception too much, so I'll give Galsworthy the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the other Forsytes as well. Certainly, the older Forsytes were a lot more at the fore in the book, with their own POV sections, and I find that I now understand James and Old Jolyon much better than I did after just watching the DVDs. It's one of those interesting books in which almost no character is entirely likable (maybe Young Jolyon?) or entirely blameless, and you're never entirely sure who to be angry at and who to pity - much like real life, in that way. And for all that it's a saga, it's not melodrama - it's a real-seeming (if somewhat extraordinary) family, full of real people, dealing with real problems and recognizable emotions. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: If you like your novels to come with extensive and complicated family trees, have I got a book for you! It's not for everyone, for sure, but if the phrase "Victorian family saga" piques your interest, then I found the first book of The Forsyte Saga to be surprisingly accessible. show less

I really enjoyed this first installment in the family Forstye's history. It is set over quite a short period of time, and the action all proceeds quite slowly. This means that we get to know the various characters. Old Jolyon is a delight. There is (fortunately) a family tree provided, such that you can get the various characters straight. There are 3 generations who feature in this book, Old Jolyon and his siblings, their children and grandchildren. Old Jolyon has made a number of choices in respect of his treatment of his family, and in this book, those begin to change, with him softening his stance towards his son.
The marriage of Soames and Irene is clearly unhappy, but I can't help feeling that each party is unpleasant as the show more other. Irene clearly doesn't love Soames, but agreed to marry him and is now looking for a way out. She takes a lover, who happens to be engaged to Soames' relative, June. Soames is simply incapable of understanding his wife, and so they are both unhappy. And, based on how this concludes, they'll carry on making each other unhappy through a mixture of pride and stubbornness that each possess. I can't say I found either to be terribly likeable.
Of the other members of the family, there are the spinster sisters, the bachelor brother, the reclusive brother, the assortment of cousins. Some of them play a minor role in the story, and there are some lively characters in the mix there. It's set at an interesting time, in that the younger set are beginning to change the status quo that Jolyon and his siblings seem to cling to.
I really enjoyed this, and will move onto the interlude and books 2 of the saga, In Chancery, in due course. show less

I've been meaning to read The Forsyte Saga for years, having enjoyed both TV dramatizations (1967 and 2002). And even though I know the story, I very much enjoyed this first book in the saga. Galsworthy gives us a lush, detailed view of late Victorian England's upper middle class and their mania for property and respectability. Like every family, the Forsytes have their secrets and black sheep, and that makes them all the more intriguing. The focus here is the ramrod-spined solicitor Soames and his unhappy wife, Irene. Soames had courted Irene more for her beauty than for love, treating her like one of his exquisite objéts d'art. So determined was he to have her that he promised to let her go if she wanted her freedom. And here lies show more the crux of the story: Irene is dreadfully unhappy, yet Soames refuses to let her go.

Galsworthy has created a cast of one-of-a-kind characters (or if they now seem like sterotypes, they were one-of-a-kind when first created). There are the senior Forsytes, Old Jolyon, James, Roger, and the aunts; the "black sheep," Young Jolyon, who married beneath him and was cut off by his father; Winifred, married to the alcoholic bounder Monty D'Arty; June, Young Jolyon's philanthropic daughter from a first marriage, and her dashing architect fiancé, Philip Bossiney, secretly dubbed by the family "The Buccaneer"; and many, many more.

There's a reason why Galsworthy's novels were so popular--and why not one but two dramatizations have been made. Quite simply, [The Forsyte Saga] is a jolly good story. I'm looking forward to moving on to the next six books in the saga. show less

Soames Forsyte is the Man of Property, and the property he owns is both his house at Robin Hill and his wife. Treating his wife (Irene) as property leads to misery for both. Bossiney, the architect of the new home, becomes the lover of Irene. Soames reasserts his marital rights by raping Irene. Bossiney commits suicide; Irene leaves Soames. What's interesting is that at various points one starts to have sympathy for Soames only to then have him reveal his nature again. Also, I was quite taken with Galsworthy's ability to describe nature. Memorable passages.

I've finished the first book in the first trilogy of the Forsyte Chronicles, as well as the first interlude, Indian Summer of a Forsyte. The Man of Property was written in (1906) and is the story of a family fairly new to money. In this novel the Forsyte family members are introduced, and Soames Forsyte is the man of property of the title. He values his possessions above all else, and those possessions include his beautiful wife Irene. There is no happy ending here, but I really enjoyed this first installment, with its cutting satire of late Victorian middle class values. The interlude, written in 1918, focuses on Soames uncle, Old Jolyon Forsyte, and Irene. I must admit I loved this old man.

It's been many, many years since the last time I read the nine-volume saga or watched the 1967 TV series, but the characters came back easily thanks to Galsworthy's defining characterizations. Written in 1906, while Victorian values were still of consequence, Galsworthy portrays a family trying to maintain those principles yet beset by events that might shatter their carefully constructed citadel. I enjoyed the re-read tremendously, just as much as the original reading.

I gave 4 stars to this book a few days ago thinking that it would average a poor beginning (2 or 3 stars) with a superb ending (5 stars). But when I sat down to finally write a review, I realized my mistake: I actually listened to 2 distinct books in the Forsyte series: The Man of Property and The Indian Summer of a Forsyte which I thought was the epilogue, but is a sequel. So, a downgrade is in order here. (On a positive note, Audiable sold me two books in one, and I am feeling quite happy about it).

I should mention that part of my difficulty with this book was my dislike of the narrator – David Case. At times while listening I wondered if every character was as dislikable as Case makes them sound. But it would be unfair, I think, show more to blame all on Mr. Case. If I was to note anything about this book, is the absence of a character I fully sympathize. This is probably John Galsworthy’s geniuses at play, This is a book of social commentary, and in a very subtle way – and maybe not so subtle way – Galsworthy opens the door for us to enter the company of the British new rich at the end of the Victorian Era, and what we see there is a family blinded by its sense of self-importance and narcissism. One character – young Jolyon – is painted in better colours (maybe I liked him after all), but even the lovers, Irene and Boursine, are tainted by arrogance and disloyalty.

I don’t regret to read it, but if I was to recommend it, it would be as a prologue to the sequel: [b:Indian Summer of a Forsyte|87715|Indian Summer of a Forsyte|John Galsworthy|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1171110438s/87715.jpg|84677]. In it we meet old Jolyan and Irene in a more detailed and profound way, as if Galsworthy having giving the full background of this very rich man was now more interested in him as a person, a dying man at that. But I will leave that for the review on that book. show less